The rising British star showing Emma Raducanu the way
Kartal won that point, whipping a forehand down the line, but Raducanu was the prodigy and, after the 2021 US Open, the global mega-star. Kartal was left not just in the shade but in pitch black darkness.
What has happened to these two women since then suggests that, when it comes to assembling the foundations of a tennis career, darkness can be preferable to a searing spotlight.
With her run to the last 16 in Indian Wells, Kartal is up to 63rd in the world – just three places and 15 ranking points behind Raducanu. If the 23-year-old from Brighton can somehow beat Aryna Sabalenka on Wednesday, she is the new British No 2.
The two old sparring partners are almost neck and neck, then, but their roads to this stage could not have been more contrasting.
Kartal put the building blocks in place and this fortnight began to add some architectural flourish. Raducanu started by erecting the peak of a magnificent skyscraper and has been trying to fill in the foundation stones ever since.
Sonay Kartal has impressed of late, reaching the last 16 in Indian Wells and up to 63rd in world
She is just three places and 15 ranking points behind Emma Raducanu, who she has known for a long time
If the 23-year-old from Brighton can somehow beat Aryna Sabalenka on Wednesday, she is the new British No 2
After her Grand Slam title Raducanu was hurled straight on to the WTA tour, like Alice tumbling down the rabbit hole and into wonderland. Her first event since New York was in Indian Wells and insiders remember her at times seeming lost – literally, as she navigated the huge site.
A few months after completing her A Levels she was doing battle with the best, most physical players in the world and it is no wonder her body began to break down. Every defeat, coaching appointment and injury was litigated extensively in the court of public opinion.
Meanwhile Kartal ploughed her furrow across the more obscure reaches of the women’s tour. Her career has been far from a smooth road – she missed more than a year with wrist trouble and at the start of 2024 was in and out of hospital – but she has been left to tread it in peace. For example, Kartal has not disclosed those medical problems which afflicted her last year – that is her right but not a right one imagines would have been afforded Raducanu.
Kartal built her ranking from 900 to 200 then flatlined before a rapid rise beginning at Wimbledon last year. She has played lower-tier events or entered qualifying for bigger ones. There is pressure in that life. The pressure of eking out enough prizemoney to pay for coaching and travel bills, the pressure to prove you have what it takes.
But it is the kind of pressure that nurtures character and resilience. The pressure Raducanu has faced – to live up to unrealistic expectations – is the sort that can cripple a young athlete.
Watching these two women compete at Indian Wells also got me thinking about luck; the role it plays in sport and our perceptions of athletes. Kartal lost in the final round of qualifying but was moved up to the main draw after Sloane Stephens withdrew. She faced world No124 Varvara Lepchenko, whose last tour-level win came in October, and then Beatriz Haddad-Maia, on a four-match losing streak, to make the third round, where she outclassed Polina Kudermetova.
It has been a dream draw, the stroke of good fortune Kartal has been waiting for. She took advantage and if she can back it up over the next few months her career is launched.
Kartal has not disclosed those medical problems which afflicted her last year – not a right one imagines would have been afforded Raducanu
She has faced pressure in playing lower-tier events but her journey has been different to that of her countrywoman
For Raducanu, meanwhile, it is almost as if she used up her quotient of luck in three weeks in New York and has been paying a debt to fate ever since.
I will go to my grave defending the old adage that one cannot fluke a Grand Slam – certainly not one won through qualifying without dropping a set – but there is no denying things broke Raducanu’s way a few times en route to her US Open title.
Yet if there was an element of the stars aligning then heavens above they have been fracturing ever since. Ankle and wrist injuries requiring surgery were the most serious problems but just in the last few months there has been a freakish back spasm, the stepping down of her trusted coach Nick Cavaday and an awful ordeal with a stalker.
It shows Raducanu’s resilience that she has come through so much ill fortune and is still here, still plugging away and – usually – still smiling.
So where will the two talented tykes who played out that epic rally go from here? Kartal must prove she can hack it against the best players and perhaps deal with a little more external pressure. As for Raducanu, with new coach Vladimir Platenik in place she will pray for a few months without injury and without incident. A drop of normality, a shred of anonymity, a slice of luck.
Champion’s luncheon
Golf’s Masters Champions Dinner is one of the great initiatives in sport so it was exciting to hear Indian Wells were hosting their first Champions Luncheon this year.
It was a rather peculiar occasion. Joined by a few dozen members of the media, last year’s winners Iga Swiatek and Carlos Alcaraz sat on high stools as their choice of national dishes were served. From Poland there were some pierogies (squishy, comforting cheese dumplings), which Swiatek said her grandad used to make. So far so good.
Next came Alcaraz’s jamon and Manchego bocadillo with peppers and things began to go off the rails. The Spaniard first said he would have preferred paella and then revealed he did not like peppers. The offending sandwich was taken away in disgrace and replaced with a de-peppered version. So did Alcaraz choose his dish or not?
I’m sure things will be a little more slick next year, when I look forward to seeing which delights of British cuisine champions Jack Draper and Sonay Kartal serve up…
Indian Wells hosted their first Champions Luncheon this year – Carlos Alcaraz had jamon and Manchego bocadillo with peppers
From Poland there were some pierogies, which Iga Swiatek said her grandad used to make
WTA maternity fund
As Indian Wells began came the launch of a new WTA maternity package, co-sponsored by Saudi Arabia’s Private Investment Fund. Players will have access to 12 months’ paid maternity leave and other benefits including funding for IVF.
The first thing to say is this is a fantastic – if overdue – initiative. For lower-ranked players in particular, who might not have had the banked prizemoney to afford a year or more off the tour to start a family, it will be transformational. But we cannot ignore the irony of the scheme been funded by a country which ranks 126 out of 146 for gender equality.
There is the sense that Saudi Arabia is keen to support the rights of all women except those who live within its borders.
Kartal is one to watch – it will be fascinating to see how she fares when the tour moves to clay
One to watch
As before mentioned, Kartal had a dreamy lucky loser draw this fortnight but she still played some excellent stuff and it will be fascinating to see how she fares once the tour moves over to the clay next month. Her aggressive top spin on both sides is at odds with the general trend of flatter hitting on the women’s tour and should be ideally suited to the red dirt.
The 23-year-old from Brighton told me this week: ‘Clay suits me really well. I like to make a battle on the court, I like to make the rallies long and physical.’
Could Kartal be that strangest of indigenous British species – the clay court specialist?